Team Conflict: Don't Avoid It; Embrace It

Team Conflict: Don't Avoid It; Embrace It

Team conflict. It is a term that does not carry a positive tone. When mentioned, it often brings to mind anxiety or tension. On the other hand, conflict is a very useful tool in any team environment. It needs merely to be viewed in a different light Ð'- a light through which most people do not view such a thing as conflict. This is because conflict can cause stress and tension among team members. Conflict can cause a person to lash out in anger or pretend it does not exist. Yet conflict is necessary in a team setting. It helps people learn as individuals and it can help the team grow and evolve into an effective problem-solving unit.

Wherever there are two or more people together, conflict exists (Dawson, 2007). It is unavoidable. Conflict, with all its possibilities for growth and learning, still must be resolved. It takes skill - a skill that needs to be developed. Nollenberger (2006) defines conflict resolution skills as "the ability to harness differences for a greater good" (p.29). If it is handled inadequately, complications can arise (Dawson, 2007), causing resentment and negative feelings and essentially making mountains out of molehills. In any situation, people have a choice of how to react to it. A person can choose whether to cry, laugh, be angry, or experience any other emotion. In conflict situations that are not viewed as positive, people tend to feel vulnerable. In such a condition people can "become oblivious to any middle ground and resist working toward a mutually beneficial solution" (Dawson, 2007, Getting Through It, 1), and nothing gets accomplished. When faced with any new situation, if viewed in a positive light, it can become a learning experience. Also, when two or more people learn together, they grow closer. In a team environment, the team grows together. Oster says, "If you want the kind of workplace where creative thinking is fostered, teams are effective and better decisions are made because the incorporate different perspectives, prepare for it to lead to conflict" (Wilson, 2005, 3). Conflict is a challenge that needs to be worked through.

As these challenges are worked through, learning takes place in the individual. When the individual allows learning to take place, the mind is reframed. Beliefs are altered. "People use their beliefs to define a problem and develop a range of alternative solutions to a conflict episode" (Gitlow and McNary, 2006, p.22). When a person reframes the mind, he is able to assimilate new thoughts. Thoughts evoke actions. Actions are where it counts. Things get done. Goals are accomplished. Deadlines are met. Individual assumptions are changed; new viewpoints are sought out and discovered. In order to alter these mind-sets, it "requires a different approach to conflict management, including re-patterning of entrenched habits, a positive outlook, constructive motivations, honest sharing of information, and trust" (Gitlow and McNary, 2006, p.21). At that point, other individuals become like a textbook from which to learn.

Learning from one another takes a higher level of thinking. "Thinking out of the box is essential for maintaining qualityÐ'..." (Warrier, 2007, 1). Once that is achieved, the positive attitude can be contagious. Others in the team can pick up on that and learn from it together. Becoming a great team is a team effort. Everyone must work on it together. Team members should "build on strengths and proceed from a place of agreement" (Davis, 2006, 9). People can learn from each other. Team members should ask themselves, "What can I do to understand the other team members better? What are the conditions that are creating the problem behavior that we are all involved in? What am I failing to learn from this conflict?" (Cottinger, 2006, Action, 2). When everyone in a team does a self-evaluation, they begin to learn the deeper causes of the conflict. A person should look into himself to discover how he is contributing to the conflict. Davis (2006) says, "By acknowledging and apologizing for wrongdoing, you are taking responsibility and encouraging everyone to be responsible. Suddenly, people will begin to humble themselves and confess their own faults" ( 8). When others are encouraged to be more responsible, they are more likely to become more responsible. Then they begin to live up to the standards that are set before them.

Also, people need to know that their ideas are not ignored. That takes time and effort from the team (Cottinger, 2006). Suppose a person feels as though his idea is ignored. This can cause resentment within that person. Then when it comes time to work together as a team, that person no longer feels a sense of pride towards that team. He is now only out for himself. The best way to manage any conflict situation is to face it head-on. In other words,